The Unofficial Saurok Playable Race Discussion Megathread! šŸŠ

Community General Discussion
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Under the assumption that Blizzard is collecting feedback from the forums, my hope is that Saurok would get considered as a playable Horde race as opposed to getting scoffed at.

I understand that Saurok as a playable race is a bit of a pipe dream. After all, this is a mook NPC race meant to go RAWR, try to eat your face, and also drop loot when players mess them up in combat. At first glance, it can be weird to see people interested in them becoming a playable race.

However, as Iā€™ve tried to show throughout this megathread, Saurok have a lot of potential to be more than just quest criteria jobbers. I donā€™t say this just because I want them playable (though I will admit that is a reason), but because they have a lot to offer.

In terms of story, their lore has a lot to work with that would make for great storylines. It also allows them to fit pretty well on the Horde.

Being a lizardman race, itā€™s something that would add a lot of flavor to the character creation screen. Likely, they would be well received as a result, since lizardmen races are popular in fantasy media. It will create some marketing hype initially, while acting as an investment for gaining future player interest in the game. The more options there are for player characters, the better in my opinion!

And being a lizardman race means there are all kinds of customization option potential. A lot of it based on RL reptiles, in which there is a lot of variety. There would be so many options that even ongoing customization options to add overtime is possible if Blizzard went that route.

I could go on, but I have elaborated in more detail on the above and more many times in this megathread. My point is that I know Saurok are a bit of an odd choice at first glance, but if you give them a chance and some creativity, youā€™ll see there is something pretty awesome there. So I hope that if Blizzard does look at this megathread, they do so with an open mind.

Iā€™ll continue to keep at it with the playable Horde Saurok support, as well as dreaming for the day to recreate my Iksar characters from Everquest 1. Being able to have them be champions of the Horde and saviors of the world (of Warcraft!) would be a dream come true for me! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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1110

Lizardmen are a common request across multiple games. Blizzard could be among the first to give them to us. Argonians are extremely popular for ESO. Lizardmen are a wonderful army in Warhammer. (that video above too. omg nice.)

Saurok are WoWā€™s lizardmen and they have so much potential.

I hope Blizzard sees these threads. The work you, Bagzak, have put into them and brings us that horizon where so many new races are added to that character creation screen.

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1111

With next month being October, Iā€™m again wanting to do a Saurok celebration throughout the month as ā€œSauroktober!ā€ which I got the idea from the Vulpera ā€œFoxtoberā€ celebration back in the days of BfA. While Iā€™m thinking of some stuff to do for that month, I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions.

At present, Iā€™m wanting to think of some posts to do throughout the monthā€¦which I know I normally do that throughout the year, but I did want to try and do a bit more of that. Iā€™m not sure specifically what that will be, but Iā€™m sure Iā€™ll think of some stuff. Iā€™ll likely do some screenshot artwork and stories at least

If I recall correctly, October 21st is National Reptile Awareness day, so Iā€™ll try to do something on that day also. Unfortunately, I was too busy with RL obligations and forgot about National Lizard Day (August 14th), so I need to do better at that. < - <;

Iā€™m still interested in someday doing a photo shoot event in Orgrimmar with people as Saurok, though like with the Ogre event I want to do, Iā€™m unsure if Iā€™ll be able to start one up since Iā€™m in the process of searching for a job and, if I can get employed, I donā€™t know what my schedule will be like. If I get to a point where I feel like I can schedule such an event, Iā€™ll be sure to mention it here, but I donā€™t want to make any promises until Iā€™m sure I can keep them. Being a responsible adult can be a bummer at times. < - <

If anyone has any ideas of what all to do for Sauroktober, please share! Or if you have anything you particular want to do or posts to type up, feel free to do that too. I want to see if I can make Sauroktober a fun celebration for those who want to see Saurok as a playable Horde race someday, but weā€™ll start small, see where it takes us, and go from there.

As I mentioned before, October is one of my favorite months for various reasons. Nice weather, Halloween, my Stonemaul Ogre megathread anniversary, and of course Sauroktober stuff are among those reasons. Hopefully Iā€™ll be able to figure out stuff for Sauroktober and itā€™ll evolve into something awesome.

Of course, supporting playable Horde Saurok will be done all year long. Having their own month to do some special celebrations and potential events just sounds like a good time to me! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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1112

Since I forgot about World Lizard Day this year, due to being busy IRL trying to set up employment seeking, I thought I would do a post on it since RL lizards have a lot of neat features that would be great for Saurok racials and customization options.

World Lizard Day is on August 14th, and I went and found some neat videos celebrating it this year.

This video shows off a Solomon Islands skink:

This video shows off a gilla monster with some facts:

This video is a fun one showing a couple of painted dragons munching on some food and just surveying the area:

This short video shows off a few lizards in quick succession, including one that appears to have a dewlap that glows in the dark:

And finally, this video is a compilation that shows off various lizards:

As you can see, there are a lot more neat RL lizards that would make for some awesome Saurok customization options. Iā€™ll have to do some more research posts in the future when I can for Saurok inspiration. :lizard:

Hopefully next year, Iā€™ll be better about doing this on the actual World Lizard Day. In the meantime, however, Saurok support will be year-round! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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1113

Jinyu first!

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Jinyu/Ankoan would make for a wonderful Alliance race and would be one of my most wanted races for that faction. Since weā€™re supporting Saurok for the Horde, we could easily have both. :smiley:

If youā€™re interested, there is a Jinyu/Ankoan megathread that could use some support here, in which it has been awhile since it was active:

Lots of good ideas and concepts within that thread for them. Hopefully, weā€™ll see them become a playable Alliance race someday! :fish:

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1115

Jinyu and Hozen should be added.

Along with Ankoan and Kelfin.

And Frost Dwarves and Taunka.

Many races deserve to be added.

Saurok among them. No one is saying specifically when.

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1116

Got another art piece to share, and this time itā€™s an Argonian from the Elder Scrolls series!

This art piece is titled ā€œArgonianā€ and was uploaded to DeviantArt on October 12th, 2015 by a user named Varagka. Itā€™s of a male Argonian archer, armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows while standing in a swamp area.

ā€œArgonianā€ by Varagka on DeviantArt

The main interesting aspect about this image is of course the bow and arrows. Saurok Hunters would likely be using bows over guns, though Iā€™m sure some players would like guns instead. This gives a better chance to imagine what Saurok Marksman and Beast Master Hunters could look like.

Another interesting aspect is of course the neat features about the Argonian with his horns and spikes. Argonians in the Elder Scrolls series have a lot of customization options, which Iā€™ve shared links to creation of them in several of the Elder Scrolls games before, and sharing this art piece helps with the Saurok customization idea inspiration. Horns and spikes are potential options for Saurok, so it helps to see examples of them on other Lizardmen races of different games, media, and such. :lizard:

Iā€™ll continue to hunt for more Lizardmen related material to share for Saurok idea inspiration! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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Iā€™m busy making terrible posts elsewhere on the forums, Bagzak!

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Iā€™m on vacation and seeing lizards everywhere. It would be nice to see a neat lizard race as playable!

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Getting to see all kinds of lizards sounds like a great vacation to me! :lizard:

And yes, a playable Lizardman race would be amazing to see in the game and offer such a refreshing choice in character options. Hopefully, weā€™ll see playable Horde Saurok everywhere in the world (of Warcraft!) someday! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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1120

The hunt will be glorious!

Canā€™t wait for mine to taste Koddo meat, and tallstriderā€¦ And zhevraā€¦ And humanā€¦ I meanā€¦ Boar. Yessā€¦

Saurok for the Horde! :meat_on_bone: :crocodile:

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Something I thought about for my potential Saurok characters is to make sure I work on their cooking. When possible, Iā€™d have meat-related food on them at all times. Meat giving strength and having healing properties would work very well for Saurok beliefs. Especially if I have to hunt for the ingredients. :lizard:

Also, itā€™s still Summertime here with temperatures in the 90ā€™s, so Iā€™ll be getting to munch on some BBQ food again before Fall starts. Hot dogs and turkey burgers are in my near future as I unleash my inner Saurok on such a feast! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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I was thinking some about Hearthstone and Saurok being in Unā€™goro Crater and thought of another potential reason to have Saurok reside in the area: To repel Mogu that may come to the area.

Mogu were said to be made by the titans, and Unā€™Goro just happens to be a pretty big titan-influenced area. In fact, that particular fact is a reason that Saurok are in Unā€™goro Crater in Hearthstone:

ā€œSaurok make their first Hearthstone appearance as one of the races inhabiting Unā€™Goro Crater in Journey to Unā€™Goro, even though Unā€™Goro is on an entirely different continent than Pandaria and had not previously known to be home to saurok. However, according to Dean Ayala, the fact that the saurok were created by the mogu, who in turn were created by the titans, combined with Unā€™Goro being such a heavily titan-influenced location, makes it ā€œnot so unrealisticā€ that similar beings were created there.ā€

So letā€™s say that a tribe of Saurok managed to land on Kalimdor and make their way to Unā€™Goro Crater to try to make a new home. Shrotly thereafter, some Mogu, who are also traveling, learn of the titan influence and want to take over the area for nefarious purposes, likely leading to them wanting to take over all of Kalimdor afterwards.

Obviously, diplomacy would work as well as a can of gasoline in a volcano, so fists would fly in the area. Sounds like a neat event and lead-in to the Horde getting involved, isnā€™t it? And given that having Mogu on their continent would be rather low on their list of fun, happy, and healthy activities, siding with the Saurok tribe there would make more sense.

With rumors of an old world revamp, this sounds like a fun thing to do with Unā€™goro Crater, as well as another way to introduce Horde-friendly Saurok that reside and guard Unā€™goro Crater to the game. Have it be an event with world quests, activities to do, world bosses to kill, and rewards to get, and itā€™d make for a fun lead-in to such an expansion.

Thatā€™s the cool thing about Saurok: their versatility. They can work as part of an expansion as a whole or can work as being part of an expansionā€™s feature. Theyā€™d have good story opportunities regardless of how they were implemented, and helping them fight against evil Mogu sounds like a fun time in general.

Whether itā€™s Unā€™goro Crater or elsewhere, hopefully weā€™ll see playable Horde Saurok someday! :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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Something I saw of interest in Unā€™goro Crater is that, according to the Wowpedia, it is an area where Wild Gods are said to have come from:

ā€œAs the titan-forged began shaping Azeroth, Keeper Freya wandered the world, creating enclaves of life and nature in the places where the waters of the Well of Eternity had coalesced, such as Unā€™Goro Crater, Sholazar Basin and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The greatest creatures to emerge from Freyaā€™s enclaves were the colossal Wild Gods.ā€

Now for some fun idea creation! Going along the line of thinking of Unā€™goro Crater as a place for Saurok to reside, Iā€™m imagining that the tribe of Saurok who end up there traveled from Pandaria, maybe being led there by a reptilian wild god of some kind. Maybe by residing there, the Saurok could help act as protectors of the place in general and maybe helping the ecosystem with their hunts there.

This could lead to some evil Mogu either following them or eventually arriving there while exploring, discovering the Titan related stuff in the area, and wanting to take it over for themselves. As I mentioned last post, this could lead to the Horde getting involved to help repel the evil Mogu off Kalimdor, making peace with the Saurok tribe there and having them join the Horde, and them acting as defenders of that territory in case the Mogu try to strike again.

I feel like the idea of Saurok following a wild god is very fitting for them. It can give them a reason to engage in hunting in their culture, adds a bit of character to their race, and a wild god that is ferocious but not an angry god that would turn Saurok into zealots (like the Skumblade Tribe) seems very fitting. I would guess the wild god would take the shape of some reptilian animal. A devilsaur could be possible, though Kros (who the Skumblade worship) is one of those, so maybe something else to act as a contrast for that. Possibly a dinosaur in the area or so, since they are plentiful in the area. Lots of possibilities here!

As I said, Unā€™goro has some possibilities for Saurok, but isnā€™t the only option. A lot depends on if Saurok would act as an allied race that is part of an expansion or if they were to be a main feature of an expansion, acting like a core race on a new continent. Saurok having versatility in such a way is a good thing.

Seems like there could be more to this line of thinking, though, so Iā€™ll be sure to think more on it and throw out some more ideas. :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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I like that.

Unā€™goro would help the Horde secure the southern sections of Kalimdor. Not the best land but still keeps their enemies from having an easy area to make a base camp and assault from. lol

There is already Rezan and Gonk. Devilsaur and Raptor respectively.

Perhaps they would follow a Dimetrodon Loa/Wild God guiding them there to help it out. Those creatures were prevalent there.

Plus could give them even greater reason for the Druid class.

I think you could still have it for either or.

As a Core race theyā€™d have to really up the zone and give them a true city.

As an AR it can just be an enclave with a portal to Orgrimmar and a nice recruitment scenario.

Either one could work I think.

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1125

Saurok Druids could be interesting. Iā€™ve mentioned the idea before that them being Druids could have to do with them taking care of the ecosystem so that they have prey to hunt, if we go with hunting and meat being important parts of Saurok society. Iā€™m not sure how likely that could be, but Iā€™d be curious to see their Druid forms if they were able to become Druids.

Itā€™s hard for me to see any new capital cities unless they act as a hub for new expansions, sadly. Thus a possibly that theyā€™d get the core race treatment and have a capital city on a continent we discover.

A city of sorts in Unā€™goro Crater would be interesting, though Iā€™d need to fly around it in game to see where they could reside. I havenā€™t been there in awhile to see where they would build. I would expect more of something on the smaller side as opposed to a grand capital city there, much as Iā€™d love to see a Saurok capital city.

I suppose in Unā€™goro Crater, there could be platforms that go up into the trees of the area. Sorta like how in Everquest 1, the Wood Elves had their city in the trees or one of the NPC Froglok factions on Kunark had in the Swamp of No Hope. Then again, a lot would depend on what type of architecture Saurok would utilize.

Not to mention that bodies of water would be important to have for Saurok, so Iā€™d expect some big areas of water to swim in. Having some underwater tunnels leading to underground areas would also be cool to have. I remember the Iksar capital city in Everquest 1 had a flowing canal in the majority of the city, where you could swim to an underground maze of sorts.

Seems like another thing to think on, but it does seem like there are plenty of possibilities of what you could see from a Saurok city. :meat_on_bone::crocodile:

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1126

Ah, I would play a Saurok Druid. I feel like they 100% should get a Saurolisk form of some sort. Saurolisk feral?

(why arenā€™t these a mount though?)

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I am down for a lizard/dragonkin race, but I honestly feel that the current Saurok model is just clunky and ugly.

Blizzard basivslly donā€™t wanna make any new race unless they share the same model as the old race now.

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Any player race will go through changes between its old npc models and the player one.

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